Chapter 435: 435
“Why can that Pikachu reach this extent? No matter how special it is, being able to achieve such a massive leap in strength is just too exaggerated!”
Facing Morty’s doubt, Ash was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “The bond between Pikachu and me is unmatched by anyone. This is the power of our bond.”
Partner form. Aura fusion. Summing up this power in two words: bond. An ethereal bond could be transformed into substantial power in their hands.
Hearing this, Morty showed a dumbfounded expression on his face. Bond. How was he supposed to be convinced by a reason like that?
“Pikachu, Zippy Zap!” Ash didn’t give him time to think and ordered again. This was still a battle. Being distracted could only mean the Trainer’s skill was not up to par.
Pikachu once again turned into golden lightning, instantly closing in on Raikou. Morty subconsciously wanted to command it to dodge, but Pikachu’s speed was simply too fast. Ash was able to react to Raikou’s speed by reading what Morty wanted Raikou to do first, but Morty couldn’t understand Ash’s instructions at all, let alone the effects brought by this so-called “bond” power he’d just been thinking about.
“Focus Punch!” Ash’s voice rang out the moment Pikachu reached Raikou.
Pikachu’s right fist suddenly clenched, and a majestic Fighting-type energy frantically condensed on its small fist. Without any charging action or any wind-up, Focus Punch erupted just like that without any warning.
The white-glowing fist solidly smashed into Raikou’s lower jaw, directly blasting its massive body into mid-air.
“How is it possible to burst out Focus Punch without even charging?” Morty’s mood could be described as one wave not settling before another arose. Having not yet recovered from Zippy Zap, he was startled once again by this uncharged Focus Punch.
Focus Punch was a high-power Fighting-type move. The principle of this move was to condense the strength of the whole body into a single point. The longer it charged, the stronger the power. Even a Champion-level Fighting-type Pokémon required at least half a second of charging time to condense enough energy on its fist to release Focus Punch.
But what did that Pikachu do? Just as Ash’s command fell, the full light of Focus Punch had already erupted on Pikachu’s fist. No charging, no wind-up, no preparation action whatsoever. The moment the command dropped, the move was already released. This was as absurd as having a Pokémon use Hyper Beam while completely skipping the charging and recovery lag.
In the spectator stands, the trainees opened their mouths wide, their jaws almost dropping to the ground.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Marcus rubbed his eyes, thinking he saw wrong. “That’s Focus Punch! Not Mach Punch! How can it be released without charging?”
“I couldn’t even see how it threw that punch.” Another trainee muttered, their face filled with the expression of a collapsed worldview.
As the referee, Lily stared intently at the small yellow figure in the middle of the field, her mouth open wide enough to fit a Poké Ball.
“Gym Leader Morty clearly said during class that Focus Punch is a move that must be charged. Did the Gym Leader teach it wrong?”
Morty twitched the corner of his mouth. Of course he didn’t teach it wrong. Focus Punch was a move that required charging. This was common knowledge recognized by all Trainers in the entire Pokémon world. But that Pikachu happened to shatter this common knowledge.
“Now, Volt Tackle!” Ash’s offensive did not stop. He once again commanded Pikachu to use the ultimate Electric-type move, which was also Pikachu’s signature move: Volt Tackle.
Pikachu’s four limbs slammed onto the ground, and the ground beneath its feet instantly exploded. Its body was once again enveloped by golden lightning, like a shooting star flying backward, soaring straight up and fiercely crashing toward Raikou in mid-air.
“Raikou, Thunder!”
Morty finally reacted, and his command rang out at this critical juncture.
Raikou in mid-air forcefully stabilized its figure, thunderclouds surging within its crimson vertical pupils. It let out a heaven-shaking roar toward the sky, and the thundercloud-like mane wrapped around its body suddenly burst out with blinding golden lightning.
A golden pillar of Thunder as thick as a towering pillar burst out from within its body, carrying the might to destroy everything, crashing down fiercely toward Pikachu charging from below. The might of that Thunder pillar was more terrifying than any previous attack.
Even with the protection of the barrier, the surrounding trainees couldn’t help but move backward, and Lily was so scared that her legs felt a bit weak. Because she was the closest to the field.
“Pika! Pika! Pika! Chu-pika!”
Pikachu didn’t dodge or evade, its eyes fixed only on that golden thunder tiger. It clenched its teeth, its expression turning ferocious from enduring the bombardment of lightning, but amidst its own lightning eruption, it forcefully cut through that terrifying Thunder pillar.
The golden lightning of Volt Tackle and the golden Thunder pillar frantically intertwined in mid-air, making a harsh crackling sound. Pikachu’s body trembled constantly in the lightning, but the momentum of its charge did not slow down in the slightest.
Just like that, pushing against the terrifyingly powerful Thunder, Pikachu went against the current and forcefully rushed right in front of Raikou.
Volt Tackle solidly crashed into Raikou. A blinding golden ball of light exploded in mid-air, and a violent shockwave spread in all directions, causing the Gym’s transparent barrier to vibrate violently and ripple layer upon layer.
Raikou’s massive body fell from the ball of light like a meteorite, heavily smashing into the ground and creating a charred deep crater. As for Pikachu, relying on the reaction force, it did a backflip and landed steadily on the ground.
Its body was covered with burn marks scorched by lightning, and its breathing had become rapid, but it still exuded a terrifying momentum, without weakening in the slightest due to injuries.
That Thunder just now had caused considerable damage to the defense-weak Pikachu. It did not have the extraordinary stamina of a Legendary Pokémon, and it was fighting above its level through special means. If it clashed with the opponent’s moves a couple more times like this, even though Pikachu had attack power far exceeding the opponent’s, it wouldn’t be able to hold up.
Raikou struggled to stand up from the crater, its body similarly scarred, and its aura had weakened a bit compared to before. Morty’s expression turned exceptionally solemn. He could see that although this Pikachu didn’t have much stamina left, Raikou’s condition was no better. If they kept wearing each other down like this, the outcome would be unpredictable.
“Pikachu, let’s decide the winner with this move!” Ash’s voice suddenly rose, his gaze incomparably firm as he wanted to settle the match in one blow. “Use 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!”
10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, one of partner Pikachu’s signature moves. The power of this move depended on the depth of the bond between Pikachu and its Trainer. The stronger the bond, the stronger the power.
And with the bond between Ash and Pikachu, the power of this move far surpassed even Hyper Beam. It was the most powerful move in Pikachu’s arsenal.
“Pika… Pika… Pika-pika-pikapika!”
Pikachu let out a passionate shout toward the sky, and the lightning wrapped around its body completely erupted. Countless golden electric arcs gushed out from its small body, enveloping it entirely.
The density of that lightning was astonishingly large, almost condensing into substance, turning Pikachu into a dazzling golden sun. A world-destroying pressure poured out from its body, and the entire Gym trembled violently.
Mewtwo’s expression inside the Poké Ball changed slightly, and without hesitation, it reached out its power from the Poké Ball, pouring all of its Psychic energy without reservation into the transparent barrier.
The barrier issued by the League shattered with a roar at the same moment, turning into flying spots of light and dissipating. The instant it shattered, an even denser and deeper azure blue barrier re-condensed around the field, firmly sealing the entire battle arena.
Mewtwo quietly breathed a sigh of relief. This kid was still so reckless. If it hadn’t intervened, the entire Gym probably would have been reduced to ashes under this move. And the power of this move brought some memories to mind.
Back when Mewtwo was still an adversary, it had once faced this move from Ash and Pikachu directly. Clearly, Pikachu had still been very weak at that time, but this move had still caused it considerable damage. This was an ultimate move capable of far surpassing the power Pikachu’s current level could normally produce.
Ash rarely used this move with Pikachu, but generally, as long as this move was used, it could achieve a decisive effect.
Pikachu leaped into the air, and a golden thunder pillar as thick as a dragon burst out from within Pikachu’s body, carrying world-destroying might as it chopped down fiercely toward Raikou below. Wherever the lightning passed, space distorted and warped.
Morty’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, feeling the destructive power contained within that lightning. It could not be taken head-on.
“Raikou, Protect!” Morty’s voice carried unprecedented anxiety.
Raikou let out a roar toward the sky, stepping heavily on the ground with its limbs, and an emerald-green barrier suddenly condensed in front of it. That barrier was thicker than any previous time. This was Raikou’s all-out defense with every last ounce of its power poured into it.
The golden thunder pillar and the emerald-green barrier collided fiercely in mid-air.
In merely one second, cobweb-like cracks appeared on that emerald-green barrier. In less than two seconds, the cracks spread frantically from the center to the edges, almost covering the entire wall.
The Protect barrier shattered completely like glass, turning into flying emerald-green spots of light scattered everywhere. The residual golden lightning solidly smashed onto Raikou, directly blasting its massive body flying, crashing heavily into the azure blue barrier set up by Mewtwo, and bouncing back down to the ground.
That powerful reaction force caused the already shattered floor to collapse with a roar. A large crater appeared directly in the arena, with Raikou lying inside the pit.
If it weren’t for Mewtwo’s barrier tightly containing all the aftermath, it wouldn’t just be the Gym’s floor that was shattered. The entire Gym would have been destroyed.
Raikou’s body was covered with shocking burn marks, but it still struggled to stand up. Even though its aura was incomparably weak, it still hadn’t fallen. It was a Legendary Pokémon that controlled lightning. Now it had actually been injured into this miserable state by lightning. If word got out, people would probably laugh at it.
Just as Raikou was still trying to struggle and stand up, a golden figure descended from the sky.
“Pikachu, final blow. Iron Tail!”
Pikachu’s tail shone with metallic luster, drawing a sharp arc in the air, carrying its final strength, and solidly chopping down on the top of Raikou’s head.
Iron Tail, hit.
The already huge crater became even deeper and larger. Raikou, which bore all of Pikachu’s remaining power, instantly stiffened inside the pit. After Pikachu spun and bounced away, Raikou fell straight down and stopped moving entirely.
The audience was dead silent.
For a long time, Lily recovered from the shock, then hurriedly raised her hand and announced with a trembling voice. “Rai… Raikou is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! The winner of this match is Trainer Ash!”
Those trainees sat dazedly in the spectator stands, mouths open wide enough to fit a Poké Ball, eyes staring blankly at the huge crater in the middle of the field and the panting yellow figure at the edge of the crater.
Won? That boy named Ash, with a single Pikachu, had defeated Raikou, one of the Legendary Beasts? And that was under the personal command of Gym Leader Morty? How could this be possible?
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Marcus muttered, his voice filled with the bewilderment of a completely collapsed worldview. “That’s Raikou. One of the three emissaries under Ho-Oh. The Legendary Pokémon that controls lightning. How could it lose to a single Pikachu?”
He suddenly turned his head, looking at the equally dazed companions beside him, as if wanting to find a trace of evidence from their faces that this was just a dream. However, what he saw were only equally bewildered and helpless gazes.
“That Pikachu. What on earth is its background?” Another trainee swallowed hard, their voice dry. “Its attack power, speed, and those moves you’ve never even heard of. Is this really a Pikachu? Isn’t it some Legendary Pokémon wearing a Pikachu skin?”
“Even a Legendary Pokémon couldn’t beat Raikou like this.” As the person closest to the field, Lily had seen every single detail of the battle just now clearly. The one who was most scared during the battle was her, and the one whose eyes widened the most was also her.
As a child who hadn’t gone out on a journey yet, being able to observe such a battle up close would definitely be of huge help to her future. The experience of acting as referee this time would probably be remembered in her heart for a lifetime.
And at this moment, Morty had recovered from his daze.
He didn’t speak, but instead directly jumped down into the huge charred crater in the center of the field. At the bottom of the crater, Raikou was lying sideways among a pile of rubble.
Its golden fur was now covered with shocking burn marks, its originally majestic thundercloud-like mane was dim and devoid of light, its limbs were sprawled powerlessly, its eyes were tightly closed, and the weak rise and fall of its chest proved it was still alive, but that was all.
Raikou, the legendary controller of lightning, had actually been injured by lightning into this state.
Morty squatted down, his hand trembling as he reached toward Raikou’s breath. Feeling that weak yet steady airflow, the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally dropped back into his chest.
Fortunately, it had only fainted. If Raikou had really suffered any serious harm in this trial, he, its temporary partner, would probably have to make amends with his life.